The availability of genetic engineering, particularly in the form of recombinant DNA technology has increased the possibility of successful gene therapy. A particular desired scenario for gene therapy involves in vivo targeted therapy which is specific for the disease to be treated. Typically, a gene, which expresses a product that is useful in the treatment of the disease, is inserted into a vector, such as a virus, which is then administered to the patient suffering from the disease. There are numerous proposals in the literature for such treatments and vectors.
It will be appreciated that in recent times, considerable effort and resources have been devoted to treating one particular disease in humans which is usually fatal. This disease, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by a particular retrovirus known as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which includes the virus known as HIV-1. Numerous treatments for this disease have been proposed and tested and some are currently in use. For example, AIDS is commonly treated by administering the drug AZT to AIDS patients. Moreover, ribozyme and anti-sense technology are currently being developed as possible treatments for humans suffering from infection by HIV. Many of these new technologies are discussed in volume 260 of SCIENCE, May 28, 1993 issue. As illustrated on page 1257 of this issue of SCIENCE, numerous therapeutics have been identified for various steps in the stages of the replication of HIV. The replication of HIV is attacked by these proposed therapeutics in order to treat the disease. However, it has not been possible to cure the infected individual because of the ability of HIV to remain integrated into the cellular genome and also due to the frequency of changes that appears in the viral genome in every replication cycle.
Often, these various treatments are not permanent and are not economical, and they are often not specific enough. The lack of specificity of the treatments tends to cause complications arising from the effect of the therapeutic drug on uninfected human cells in the body of the patient being treated.
The present invention seeks to provide a novel treatment for AIDS as well as a genetically engineered HIV and a genetically engineered cell line for producing the genetically engineered HIV.